Silent suffering
by rokeat
Summary: Blaine has been acting strange for weeks, distant and depressed, and his best friend Sam doesn't know why or what to do about it. He tries to get some information out of him, to no avail, but little does he know that Blaine is only trying to protect him. (BLAM, warning for mild violence and bullying)


_**A/N:** Hey, everyone! I'm back! I know I said I was going to write a sequel to my "A long race story" (which I still am, starting now) but I had this idea for a one-shot that I wanted to try first. I've been strugling with it for almost two weeks, and it finally resulted in a piece three times longer than expected and definitely not as great as I hoped. I debated a lot with myself if I should post it or not, but after so much work... I couldn't just delete it. So...so be it! I can't really do anything else about it, so I still hope you can enjoy it!_

* * *

"Earth calling to Blaine!" Sam joked as he snapped his fingers in front of his best friend's face, trying to make him react.

Blaine came out of his stupor at the noise and gave Sam a little smile that didn't reach his eyes, just as it had been happening for some weeks now. He looked around and noticed all the other members of the Glee club were already gathering their belongings, so he guessed the class was over even if he had not heard Mr. Schue dismissing them.

"Are you amongst the living now?" Sam asked, playfully punching Blaine in the arm before standing up to go, and the shorter boy smiled more widely this time at his friend's obvious worry about him.

"Yeah, sorry, I had my mind on other things" Blaine apologized as he followed Sam to the door.

"You've been having your mind on other things a lot lately, B. Is this something I should worry about?" Sam asked, honestly. One of the things he loved the most about his friendship with Blaine was how could be open and honest about his feelings, because he knew Blaine would always understand and appreciate that side of him. So if he worried about his best friend, he could tell him, and Blaine would not laugh at him.

"No, of course not. I guess I'm just tired, I've not been sleeping that well lately" Blaine answered, and Sam could have sworn Blaine checked both sides of the corridor outside the room before following him, even if that didn't make any sense.

"How come?" Sam asked, putting his arm around Blaine's shoulders to guide him and to offer some kind of comfort he felt the other boy needed, even if for the love of God he couldn't figure out why.

"I don't know. It must be some anxiety for the upcoming exams, nationals, student council, graduation…" Blaine answered, both comforted by the warmth of Sam's body so close to his and slightly worried of being seen with him like that, even if the hallways were pretty much deserted by then.

"I think you're stressed out, buddy. Maybe you should leave some of the clubs you attend. You need to focus all your energies in what's really important"

"Yeah, maybe" Blaine simply answered, not wanting to get into some deeper analysis of his current insomnia as he unconsciously snuggled closer on Sam's side.

"Hey, why don't you and me go to the cinema on Saturday?" Sam suggested, squeezing Blaine's shoulder. "That will take your mind off things for a while"

"Why don't you come to my place instead? We can watch a movie, play some videogames… I'll even make some popcorn, if you want" Blaine offered, making sound like it was something extraordinary, but he was not fooling Sam.

"But we do that every Saturday!" Sam protested. "Wouldn't you prefer to watch a movie we haven't seen a thousand times before for a change? It's been ages since the last time we went to the movies, I heard there is no pianist anymore"

"I don't know, Sam, I would rather hang out at home, if you don't mind" Blaine answered, and Sam was getting more and more convinced there was something wrong with him by how he had missed his poor attempt of humor.

"I don't mind, B, but is there any reason you don't want to go out?" Sam insisted.

"It's just… I don't want to spend too much money, you know. I'm trying to save for when we're at New York in a few months"

"Ok, now you're making me feel guilty. Ok, I guess I could do with some saving too"

"By the way, I have tons of movies you haven't watched" Blaine said, conveniently changing the subject.

"Yeah, and there is a reason for that!" Sam joked, and he wasn't fast enough to dodge Blaine's playful punch to his arm.

* * *

Blaine took Sam home on his car before heading towards his own house, like he did every afternoon. As soon as his friend left the car, though, his pretence of everything being alright disappeared and he sighed tiredly. He felt guilty he was making Sam worry about him. He should have known Sam would notice there was something wrong with him: Sam always seemed to notice everything going on with him, even if he was the only one. And he didn't deserve for Blaine to reciprocate him with lies.

Blaine didn't like to lie, especially to Sam, who was probably the most important person in his life at the moment. His reason for not wanting to go to the cinema had nothing to do with money; he had a miserable excuse of a family, but at least his parents indulged him with all the money and whims he wanted to compensate their failures at parenting.

The real reason was that Blaine didn't want to risk being seen with Sam. At home, it was highly improbable anyone would know they were spending the day together, but in a public place like the mall… They had a good chance at running into a lot of people of McKinley and being discovered. And that was something he couldn't risk.

* * *

"Why are you parking so far from the entrance, B?" Sam asked, as they arrived to McKinley the next day in Blaine's car.

"Just in case there aren't any free spots left closer to the door" Blaine answered dismissively, turning the engine off.

"You could have had a look. It's so early anyway, man"

"I told you I had things to do before class, don't be so whiny" Blaine mockingly admonished him.

"I'm not whiny!" Sam protested, feigning to be outraged at the insult.

"_It's too far, it's too early_" Blaine said, jokingly mimicking Sam's voice until he received a playful slap on the back of his head.

"Come on, I thought you were in kind of a rush" Sam told him when he opened his door and he noticed Blaine had yet to move.

"I… have to make a phone call first. You get going, I'll catch up with you later" Blaine explained, encouraging Sam to get going without him.

"Who are you calling?" Sam asked, his eyes squinting with suspicion.

"Aren't you being a gossip today?" Blaine answered, trying to avoid having to answer.

"Okay, Blaine, what's happening here?" Sam asked, closing the door again and turning to look at his friend. "You won't tell me what things you've got to do before class, now you won't tell me who are you calling… Is there something wrong?"

"No, why would you think that?"

"Because you used to tell me everything. I'm your best friend after all, am I not?" Sam asked, and it broke Blaine's heart how offended he sounded.

"Of course you are" Blaine agreed, patting Sam's thigh in a reassuring way.

"Then what is it? Have I done something wrong? Are you angry at me or something?"

"What? No, Sam, of course not. You're my bro"

"Then I don't understand all this mystery!" Sam insisted exasperatedly.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to be all mysterious or anything" Blaine apologized, trying to find a plausible explanation for his recent behavior. "I've got to… talk to the secretary about some misunderstanding with the credits I need for my graduation… And I was going to call… Cooper"

"And you couldn't tell me that?" Sam asked, kind of disbelieving at Blaine's explanation.

"I didn't think it was important, Sam. I surely didn't want to offend you" Blaine looked so guilty that Sam's mild anger immediately evaporated.

"It's okay" Sam said, putting his hand over Blaine's, still in his thigh. "I'll leave you to talk to your brother, then. Give him my regards, ok? But don't push me away again or you will see the Hulk side of me, okay?"

"Okay" Blaine answered with a chuckle. "Sorry"

"I said it's okay" Sam reassured him with a last squeeze to their joined hands. "See you later, B"

"Later, Sammy"

Blaine sighed as he watched Sam go. The last thing he wanted was to hurt him in any way, but he was just trying to protect him. With no intention of calling his brother or anyone else for that matter, he waited until Sam was well inside the building to undo the safety belt and follow him.

* * *

The day had gone smoothly enough, Blaine thought, as he had been able to attend his classes without any unfortunate encounters. He had successfully avoided Sam too –at least in person, because he had felt forced to answer Sam's message at lunch time asking him where the hell he was, so he had told him he was not hungry and was skipping the meal, and that he would meet him at Glee.

He was putting away some books in his locker, and he even still had some papers with his Spanish notes on his hand while he sorted them on his folder, when a couple of strong hands grabbed him from behind and forced him into the men's room just behind his locker.

Once inside, he was rudely pushed into the wall, in a way were his face hit first and he felt a pounding pain on his forehead. He didn't even have time to protest the action when the same hands from before turned him around and pushed him powerfully against the wall again –probably leaving a bruise on his back– and closed his fingers around Blaine's neck in a strong grip.

"I don't think you really understood what we told you the other day" Alec Morgan spat at him, his face dangerously close to Blaine's.

Blaine tried not to show how scared he was. He knew he could take Morgan in spite of how big the bully was, or at least try –he had been boxing for years, after all–, but not when he was surrounded by his two henchmen. Blaine knew he had no chance against the three of them, just as he hadn't had all the other times, so he would just have to listen and hope they wouldn't hurt him.

"I don't know what you mean" Blaine was able to mumble, as his breath was being compromised by the pressure of Morgan's fingers around his throat.

"Evans was not in the football training yesterday, and we think it was probably you keeping him away from it" Morgan said, his voice full of hate.

"We had student council yesterday" Blaine tried to explain.

"So he was with you, after all"

"He is vice-president, he had to be there. It didn't have anything to do with me" Blaine desperately tried to excuse himself, to no avail.

"Everything has to do with you, apparently, from the moment you spread your fairy dust over him" Morgan sarcastically replied.

Blaine visibly gulped at what he knew was about to come. The hate in those boys' eyes was so intense it almost hurt him physically.

_It all had started one ordinary afternoon when Blaine was in the locker room after having been boxing for a while in a free period. He always practiced at that hour so he could take a shower and change after his boxing without running into the football team, who would still be training. Apart from Sam and a couple more guys, the boys on the football team were pretty unpleasant and very much homophobic, and more than once they had accused Blaine of wanting to get some action if he happened to be there when they arrived. So Blaine avoided them as much as he could, even if Sam had tried to convince him it wasn't fair, and that it should be them leaving if they felt uncomfortable. But Blaine wasn't one to look for trouble if he could avoid it, so he stayed away from them._

_That afternoon, though, Blaine was about to take his shower when the football team appeared. Apparently they had been dismissed earlier than usual, and Blaine cursed his luck as he started packing his things in a rush, with the intention of forgetting his shower, even if he was all sweaty and messy, and disappearing. But Sam, being the wonderful friend and protector that he was, noticed that and stopped him wordlessly with a hand around his wrist, ignoring his own annoyance at his team mates while he loudly and casually chatted with Blaine, wanting to make a statement to everyone in the room. Without giving it a second thought, he stripped in front of him and walked to the shower and, once there, he asked Blaine to lend him his soap as a way to make the other boy walk into the showers too and to make everyone else see he didn't have a problem with showering next to Blaine._

_Blaine, of course, knew it wasn't a good idea, but it would have been too ungrateful towards his friend not to go along with his plan, after openly defying his own team mates, so Blaine stripped too and took the shower next to Sam's, giving him the soap and a grateful smile over the divider. And to both their surprises, none of the other guys made any comment about it. But they waited until Blaine and Sam were long gone before taking their own showers._

_What felt like a small victory to Blaine, turned against him the day after. Once Sam and Blaine separated by their lockers for their respective classes, Morgan and two other boys cornered the curly-haired boy in the locker room and accused him of trying to turn Sam gay like he was. They used the words "disgusting" and "repulsed" a lot, wished him to die and then they pushed him into the shower._

_"You like getting all wet in front of all the other boys, don't you, faggot?" Morgan had said while he held him so strongly under the water that his fingers left bruises in Blaine's arms for days._

_Before they left him alone, all drenched and humiliated, they warned him not to tell anyone about it or they would really hurt him the next time. And they specifically told him not to say anything to Sam, or they would make Sam's life a living hell too. And that, obviously, had been enough to keep Blaine quiet._

_Much to his dismay, it hadn't been an isolated incident. Soon after his first encounter with those bullies, the whole "Guilty pleasures" week had taken place and Sam, far from being freaked out about Blaine's crush on him, had grown even closer to him. They hardly shared any classes apart from Spanish with Mr. Schue, but the rest of the time they spent almost every minute of the day together. So much that Sam had skipped a couple of football trainings, one to attend one of their superheroes meetings and another one to take Blaine home and look after him when he had suffered a relapse from the terrible cold he had sported some weeks ago (Sam didn't want to risk Tina taking care of him again after the vaporub incident). They had left the place together, and everybody had seen Sam with his arms around a feverish Blaine, physically supporting and guiding him to the car and tenderly accommodating him on the passenger seat. Blaine had seen Morgan looking at them as they passed him by on the hallways of McKinley, but his fevered-numb mind hadn't registered how much of a problem that could be._

_Blaine had been absent from school next day due to his illness, but Morgan and his sidekicks were waiting for him when he came back, when they got him again and threatened him, in no uncertain terms, to beat the crap out of him if he didn't put an end to his relationship with Sam, or whatever that was, because it was affecting his achievement on the team. And he was, of course, not to say anything to the blond guy because well, everyone knew how much of a temper he had, and fighting Morgan would only lead him to been expelled or to have a stain on his student's transcript at the least, and he was graduating with enough difficulties without that, wasn't he?_

_Blaine knew that was true: he didn't care as much about being beaten as about Sam getting in trouble because of him. Morgan was right: if Blaine told him about how he was being harassed, Sam would undoubtedly fly into a rage and try to take revenge on his own. And due to his dyslexia, he was struggling enough to graduate with the rest of his classmates, so Blaine couldn't risk getting him into some trouble that could easily ruin his student transcript, especially since graduation was only a few weeks away and Blaine thought he could take Morgan's bullying until then. So even when Morgan spat at his face and gave him a punch on his stomach –so he wouldn't leave any visible marks– while his friends held Blaine's arms behind his back for good measure, he said nothing. And when in another occasion someone wrote the word "faggot" with a spray on the window of his car, he still said nothing, even if Sam questioned him about it for long and he had to act as if he didn't know about it and didn't really give a shit. Just as every time they pushed him against the lockers when they passed him by, or that time they tripped him and he hit his teeth against a bin. He still never breathed a word to anyone._

"We warned you what was going to happen if Evans neglected the team again, didn't we, you fucking fairy?" Morgan reminded him, his voice full of a senseless hate.

"I… can't… breathe" Blaine was able to whisper with the little breath he could muster through Morgan's strong grip on his throat.

"You won't be breathing for much longer if I see you with Evans again, do you hear me? We need him in order for us to win and if a faggot like you is the only thing standing in our way… we could easily get rid of you, if you know what I mean"

Blaine's heart was increasing its beating with each passing moment. The pain on his back and forehead from the hard contact with the wall, the fear of how that was going to end, the lack of oxygen due to Morgan's fingers around his battered neck… And the implicit threat to kill him if they ever saw him near Sam again. It was all becoming too much, and he thought he was going to pass out when Morgan finally let go of him, though he took the papers Blaine was still holding in his hand, forgotten until then.

"But don't think we are that bad! Let me give you some of that confetti you queers like so much!" he joked as he crudely ripped Blaine's notes to a thousand pieces and threw them over him while his friends laughed at the scene.

Blaine waited until the three of them were out of the room before he let himself fall on his knees to pick up the pieces of the papers Morgan had destroyed. He instantly saw there was no way he could save them and, as he collected the pieces to throw them away, loud heart-wrenching sobs broke the silence of the room. Blaine brought his hands to his face and covered it, as if wanting to hide the shame and the pain he was feeling, and his shoulder shook with vengeance as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get a grip on himself.

* * *

It had taken him a good ten minutes to calm down and to erase any traces of tears of his face. The last thing he needed was for everybody to know something was up. As he looked at his own reflection in the mirror, he could see some terrifying bruising forming around his neck caused by the force which with Morgan had held onto it. He was glad that, at least, he was wearing a turtleneck sweater that day, and most of the bruising would be covered by it. He couldn't hide the little bruise on his forehead from when he had hit the wall, though, but he could easily lie about that and tell he had hit something to whoever might ask him about it.

He only had one more class and Glee practice left for the day, so he thought it would be wiser if he skipped them and headed for home. He was too shaken for Sam not to notice something was up anyway, and he didn't feel ready to put an act right now. So with the intention on making a run to the parking lot, he finally left the locker room and started walking as fast as he could down the hallway.

"Blaine! I've been looking for you for ages!" Blaine cursed under his breath when he heard Sam's friendly voice behind him and he felt forced to turn around. "I wanted to tell you that… Blaine, you okay?" Sam asked once he got a close look at his pale and sick-looking friend.

"Yeah, Sam" Blaine answered, turning away from him again. "Excuse me, I'm late"

"Just wait a second!" Sam stopped him, grabbing his arm to turn him around, and Blaine quickly adjusted the collar of his sweater to cover the bruises Morgan had imprinted in his neck with his brutish ways. "What's with all the rush? You already missed lunch, I feel like I haven't seen you in ages"

"What did you want, Sam?" Blaine asked impatiently, wanting for Sam to just say what he had to say so he could disappear to the comfort of his car and away from prying eyes.

"Burt and Carole are going to travel to New York to visit Kurt this weekend. Do you want to come over to mine's tomorrow instead of your home for a change?" Sam asked, although Blaine could see his heart wasn't in his own words as Sam was looking intently at him with some apprehension in his eyes.

"Sure" Blaine answered with a forced smile, and he tried to turn away again, only to be stopped once more by his friend.

"Blaine, what the hell…?" Sam asked in confusion, and suddenly his eyes widened and Blaine knew he had finally seen the bruise on his forehead. "Hey, what's that?"

"Oh, I… I accidentally hit an open locker before quite hard" Blaine lied, but it seemed like he had fooled his friend for once.

"It looks pretty painful" Sam observed, gently running his fingers along the offending injury, making Blaine sigh with the tenderness of the gesture. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

"Actually I don't, my head is hurting quite a lot" Blaine added, hoping Sam would let him go once and for all.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Sam, the most kind-hearted boy in the world, asked. "Do you want me to…?"

"No need, don't worry" Blaine interrupted, grateful for Sam's worry but needing to disappear so they would not be seen together. "I really have to go now, Sam. I'll see you at Glee later, okay?"

"Okay" it was all Sam could say at Blaine's retreating back as the latter practically ran away from him.

* * *

"So none of you have seen Blaine on your way here?" Sam asked the other members of the glee club as they waited for Mr. Schue, who was running late –and Blaine, who five minutes after the official start of the session still had to make an appearance.

"No, Sam, we already told you" Kitty answered, a little exasperated at the blond.

"He must be speaking to some teacher, I'm sure he'll be here in a minute" Marley added, trying to reassure Sam.

Sam was about to say something else when his phone buzzed. Immediately taking the phone from his pocket, Sam saw it was a text from his best friend.

_Hey, Sam. I won't be coming to Glee today, my head got a turn for the worse and I even got a little dizzy so I decided to head for home for a little rest. I'm sorry I can't be your lift today. Maybe you could ask Artie? I'm really sorry. See you tomorrow, mate, at yours. Xxx_

Sam visibly frowned at the message, worried about his friend. Blaine was not feeling well? He had to have a hard blow to get him all dizzy. That was probably why he was acting so strange before, when he had run into him on the hallway. He didn't like the fact that Blaine had been driving while feeling dizzy one bit, but at least he was safe at home by then.

"Is everything okay, Sam?" Artie asked, seeing the frown on his face.

"Yeah, yeah" Sam answered, the question getting him out of his thoughts. "Blaine won't be coming after all"

"Is he alright?" Marley asked.

"He was not feeling well and he decided to head for home"

"Is he sick again?" Artie asked, starting to get worried about Blaine's recent tendency to catch every possible cold.

"Oh, no. He just hit his head today with some stupid locker and had a bit of a headache, but I'm sure he'll be alright" Sam answered, trying to convince himself more than the others. "Artie, could you take me home today? Blaine was supposed to be my lift"

"Sure, no problem" Artie answered, and just then Mr. Schue finally appeared and the session started, though Sam's heart and mind weren't at it at all, and he discreetly answered his friend's message.

* * *

_Don't worry, mate, just take care of yourself, though you should have let me take you home if you were feeling dizzy, you could have had an accident. And because I know you and I know you won't rest easy until you stop feeling guilty, I'll have you know Artie said he would take me home! Let me know if you need anything, whatever time it is, okay? See you tomorrow! ;)_

Blaine smiled for the first time that day at reading Sam's message. He felt horrible at lying to Sam, but his heart warmed at how much his best friend worried about him and wanted to take care of him. He couldn't wait until the next day, where they would spend the afternoon together at Sam's, just enjoying each other's company without having to worry about being seen or anything else beside themselves. And after everything going on for the last few weeks, it almost felt like too good to be true.

* * *

Blaine smiled honestly as Sam opened the door for him at Saturday afternoon.

"Hey, dude" Sam greeted him with a warm hug, in which Blaine took the luxury to remain for a couple of seconds more than necessary, needing the physical comfort of Sam's arms around him. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm good" Blaine answered, and his heart melted when Sam cupped his cheeks to keep his face still as he checked the bruise on his forehead.

"Really? Because I was kind of worried, since you had to go home yesterday. Are you still feeling dizzy?"

"Oh, no, not anymore. It hardly hurts" Blaine replied.

"You should have let me take you home yesterday, man. Driving while feeling dizzy… That was not one of your smartest moves, you know" Sam gently reprimanded him.

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't want to be a burden" Blaine confessed.

"You're never a burden, mate. Will I ever be able to get that through that thick head of yours?" Sam only half joked, playfully knocking on Blaine's hard head.

"Maybe someday" Blaine replied with a chuckle.

"Well, let's go to my room in the meantime. I made you some popcorn!"

"Yay! You're the best friend ever!"

* * *

As Sam had predicted, they ended watching _X-men_ for what felt like the hundredth time –with the mandatory discussion about who got to be Wolverine, of course– and once it was finished, Sam suggested to play some videogames, to which Blaine enthusiastically agreed. Sam got up from the bed, where they were both sitting against the headboard, to get the console out of the closet when Blaine remembered about his ruined notes.

"By the way, Sam, can I borrow your Spanish notes?" Blaine asked, trying to sound casual.

"Sure, but how come? I copied them from yours, after all" Sam answered, even if he was already getting his folder out of his backpack to give his notes to his friend.

"I know, but… I can't find them. I must have left them somewhere" Blaine explained, gratefully smiling at Sam as he took the papers and put them on his own bag.

"You? Losing something? No, better yet, you losing important things for school?" Sam asked with an incredulous voice.

"Yeah, I know, but… well, it happened" Blaine answered, shrugging his shoulders.

"I can't believe it, B. What did really happen?"

"Geez, Sam, I told you I lost them, why is it so hard to believe?" Blaine retorted angrily, which deeply surprised Sam because usually it was so difficult to rile his friend.

"Because you're Mr. Perfect, you would never lose your notes" Sam answered back, too confused to understand what was happening.

"Yeah? Well, here is some news: I'm not perfect and I don't appreciate you doubting my words" Blaine responded, and there was so much venom on his voice that Sam felt obliged to sit next to his friend and gently rest his hand on Blaine's arm to placate him.

"Hey, B, cool off" Sam pleaded, his tone as soft and conciliatory as he could muster. "I was only joking"

"Well, I didn't find it funny" Blaine retorted, still angry but already calming down.

"Ok, I'm sorry. Don't get angry for that" Sam asked him, a little hurt at his friend's outburst.

"Oh my God, Sam, it's me who's sorry" Blaine immediately apologized, his anger vanishing instantly at the hurt expression on his friend to be replaced by an incredible guilt. "I shouldn't have jumped at you like that. Please, forgive me"

"Hey, it's not like I got mortally wounded, you know? It's okay" Sam was happy to forgive his friend, and he was about to get up again to finish getting the games console ready, only to be stopped by Blaine's hand gently grabbing his arm.

"No, it's not. You're always a wonderful friend and I snapped your head off for no reason. I'm so sorry" Blaine apologized again, and Sam was devastated at how his eyes were getting glassy with unshed tears.

"Hey, it's okay, really, no offense taken" Sam tried to reassure him, resting his hand on Blaine's and squeezing it comfortingly. "Let's just… forget it, ok?"

"Okay" Blaine answered with a grateful smile, expecting Sam to stand up to continue preparing the game but, to his surprise, Sam didn't move. He was deep in thought, as if trying to gain the courage to ask something.

"Blaine?" he finally broke the silence.

"Mmm?" Blaine murmured, apprehensive about what was to come.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, very seriously, as he turned to look intently at him.

"Of course" Blaine answered, trying to sound casual.

"You don't seem alright. In fact, you haven't seemed alright for a long time now"

"I don't know what you mean, I'm like always"

"No, you're not" Sam denied with a sad smile. "Sometimes you look so sad… And then you get angry all of a sudden, just to feel incredibly guilty a moment later. You don't joke, you don't laugh, you hardly eat, and judging by the bags under your eyes, I would say you haven't been sleeping much either"

"What are you talking about? Sam, I…" Blaine started to deny, but Sam wouldn't let him finish.

"And if I didn't know any better, I'd thought you were avoiding me"

"No, Sam" Blaine denied, his heart filled with so much sorrow. "Why would you think that?"

"I don't know, that's what I want you to tell me" Sam said, sounding almost like he was pleading.

Blaine didn't know what to think. On one hand, he felt amazed and really moved at how much Sam always noticed about him. If someone really cared about him, that was Sam. But on the other hand, Blaine wished Sam hadn't noticed so much. Now denying something was happening would be all the more difficult.

"B, you know you can talk to me, right?" Sam insisted, interrupting Blaine's thoughts.

"Yeah" he agreed.

"About anything"

"I know"

"Then do, and I will help you" Sam insisted.

"You can't help me in this" Blaine answered before he could stop himself, realizing too late that he had unconsciously admitted there was indeed something wrong with him.

"Let me be the one to decide that" Sam replied, trying to stay calm at Blaine's admission. "And even if I can't, at least I will listen and understand. Anything not to see you so down, man. I hate it that you seem so depressed"

There was so much honesty and understanding in Sam's voice and eyes that Blaine couldn't help it anymore: he had to share it with him. Maybe he couldn't tell him the whole truth, but at least he would be able to talk about his feelings with his best friend, who was so willing to listen.

"Sometimes I feel like I don't fit" Blaine started.

"At McKinley?" Sam asked, confused.

"Anywhere" Blaine confessed.

"Why do you say that?" the blond boy asked, his heart breaking at the obvious pain in his friend.

"I don't know… It's how I feel. Sometimes I feel everything I do is just because I want people to like me, yet…"

"Yet what?" Sam encouraged him to go on.

"Yet I will always be a social outcast. Nothing I do will ever change the fact that I'm different from them and they'll always feel intimidated or repulsed by me" Blaine explained, trying to catch a stray tear on his cheek discreetly.

"What are you talking about? I know there are some big jerks at McKinley, but everybody at the Glee club loves you"

"No, they need me. They think they can win with me in the team so they put up with me, but none of them really cares about me" Blaine stated one of his biggest worries. "Not one of them has realized what I'm going through, only you. How can they care about me when they can't even see how screwed up I am?"

"You're not screwed up, Blaine" Sam denied, shifting so he could sit closer to his friend and put his arm around Blaine's shoulder. "And they do care about you, a lot. You just can't see it now because you're depressed, but I assure you every single one of them consider you a friend"

"No, they don't. I have no friends" Blaine answered as another tear left a trail down his cheek.

"You have me, Blaine" Sam reminded him, this time he being the one to catch the offending tear with his thumb.

"I know, Sam" Blaine reassured him with half a sob. "Gosh, of course I know. But at what cost?"

"What do you mean?" Sam asked, getting more and more confused by the minute. Where was all that coming from? He knew Blaine tended to get self-steem issues every now and then, but this seemed like so much more. He seemed to be really depressed, and Sam's heart ached at not knowing how to help him.

"You used to be popular and everybody wanted you to be your friend, or your date, or to hang out with you. Now you're the friend of the biggest nerd there is who on top of everything happens to be gay. I know what I get from our friendship, and let me tell you it's a lot, but what good came out of it for you?" Blaine asked him, openly sobbing now, so Sam quickly brought him to his chest and enveloped him with both his arms.

"Are you kidding me? Blaine, everything became better since you became my bro!" Sam tried to make him understand, resting his head on Blaine's.

"How?" Blaine asked, his voice merely a whisper.

"How?" Sam asked back, disbelievingly. "Yes, everybody wanted to hang out with me before, but only because I was the quarterback, or because they considered me sexy, or because I was popular. Do you think I cared about any of those things? It wasn't until you and I became so close friends that I could be who I really am. Only you get me and accept me for what I really am, Blaine. None of them cared to really know me, yet you did. How can that be bad?"

"I just hope the day won't come when you realize befriending me was the worst decision you took and you start hating me" Blaine confessed, thinking about Morgan's threats to hurt Sam or get him expelled if he ever saw them together.

"That will never happen, Blaine. I could never hate you. Never" Sam explained, lifting Blaine's face with a finger under his chin so he could see the honesty in his own eyes.

Sam looked intently at his friend, his eyes full of sorrow and loneliness, and Sam felt angry at a world that could make such a beautiful person feel like that. Sam held Blaine's gaze for some seconds, marveling at the depth of Blaine's golden orbs, and moved by an intense desire to protect that perfect boy and to make the pain go away, he pulled Blaine's chin to him and joined their lips in a chaste kiss that send shivers down both their spines.

Seeing that Blaine didn't stop him, Sam captured his lips once more, this time taking the time to savor and explore them while feeling the kiss starting to be reciprocated, his hand moving to the back of Blaine's head to entwine his lose curls around his own fingers. But when Sam's tongue started asking for permission, a hand on his chest gently pushed him away and he was missing the warmth of Blaine's lips even before they were really gone.

"Sam, don't" Blaine begged, his voice no more than a whisper.

"Blaine, I'm sorry, I just…" Sam tried to explain, but Blaine wouldn't listen.

"You know how I feel about you and even if you want to help me you're messing with me" Blaine reproached him as he stood up, away from Sam's side. "Don't kiss me out of pity, please. Let's not jeopardize our friendship, I can't risk to lose you. Not now"

"Blaine, we're not risking anything, I kissed you because…" Sam tried again to explain himself, only to be interrupted again.

"Let's not do that. I should probably go" Blaine said, gathering his things with the intention of leaving, but Sam kneeled across the bed and was at his side in an instant, grabbing Blaine's arm to stop him.

"No, B. I won't let you go like that" Sam stated, a little more forcefully than intended.

"Sam, please. Let go of me" Blaine pleaded, and Sam's heart fell at the obvious and sudden fear he could see in Blaine's eyes from the moment he had grabbed him.

"Blaine, I… I wasn't going to hurt you" Sam mumbled, astounded, as he obeyed and let go of his friend's wrist.

"I'm sorry" Blaine apologized without looking at him, and he rushed out of the room without Sam trying to stop him anymore.

* * *

When Monday morning came, and Sam arrived to McKinley in bus –Blaine had texted him the night before saying he was going to go early so he would not be able to drive him–, the first thing he did was to look for his friend. The situation they were in was ridiculous: they hadn't spoken at all on Sunday, not even one text message, and that was highly unusual between them. Sam knew Blaine was not doing well, and maybe his kiss had been terribly timed, but he was not going to lose his best friend just like that. Even if Blaine didn't have feelings for him anymore, Sam would make sure they would remain best friends forever.

After searching the auditorium –Blaine sometimes went there for a little piano playing–, the library and the cafeteria, he finally found him on the gym, aggressively punching the boxing bag as if it was the end of the world. He was so concentrated on his activity that he didn't hear Sam coming into the room.

"Hey" Sam said as he rested his hand on Blaine's shoulder.

The fright he gave the other boy was enough to make Blaine jump so much he hit the bench beside him, and would have ended on the floor if not for Sam's quick reflexes at grabbing his arms and keeping him upright.

"Don't creep up on me like that" Blaine admonished him, starting to take off his boxing gloves.

"I wasn't trying to, I'm sorry" Sam immediately apologized.

"It's okay" Blaine answered, much more coldly than he usually talked to Sam, his back to him as he started rummaging through his bag.

"I was wondering if maybe we could talk…" Sam started, but he was interrupted by the door opening and Morgan coming in, looking surprised at finding them there.

Sam lazily said hello to his team mate, who answered back with the same lack of interest, and he could have sworn he had seen Blain stiffen as Morgan passed him by on his way to the weight machines, as if he was expecting something to happen.

"What was that?" Sam asked once Morgan was out of earshot.

"What?" Blaine asked, feigning not to know what Sam was talking about.

"Has Morgan been giving you a hard time again about your presence in the showers?" Sam asked, genuinely worried.

"Of course not" Blaine denied.

"Then why did you look so uncomfortable when he came in?" Sam asked, and it was enough questioning to make Blaine lose his temper.

"Gosh, Sam, will you stop doubting every word I say?" Blaine yelled, both because he was angry and because he was hoping Morgan would hear them arguing. "Just leave me alone for a while, ok?"

And with that, and for the second time in a row, he left Sam speechless as he flew away from his side.

"Problems with the fairy?" Morgan asked, sarcastically, from the other side of the room.

"Call him that again and you and I are going to have trouble, Morgan" Sam answered, pointing his finger menacingly at him, but he ignored the sarcastic smirk on the other's face and left the gym before he could do something he would later regret.

* * *

Blaine tried to stay away from everyone as the day progressed. He didn't want to meet Sam, and he surely didn't want to meet Morgan, who would probably have something to say about seeing them together in the gym, even if they were fighting.

But he was not so lucky. Of course Morgan and his two damned friends were waiting for him in front of his locker just before his Spanish class. They didn't seem to mind that there were some people around, which gave Blaine a little relief that they wouldn't be too cruel with him this time. But he still had a bad feeling in his gut, so he tried to turn around before being seen. Obviously he was not so lucky.

"Going somewhere, you faggot?" Morgan asked at his retreating back, and Blaine immediately tensed but decided to ignore it and keep walking away from the scene.

He could feel the stares of the people around them on him, and he was not surprised when no one moved a finger to defend him, even if he was sure all of them had heard Morgan's insult. That was McKinley, after all. Bullying was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, Kurt had been bullied for months in his junior year and no one outside the Glee club had moved a finger to help him.

"I'm talking to you, Anderson, don't you dare ignoring me" Morgan shouted, but Blaine still didn't turn around.

"Go to hell" he loudly answered over his shoulder, empowered by the fact that Morgan wouldn't dare to hit him in front of witnesses, but it was not the right answer, judging by the speed with which the bully was at his side, grabbing him by the back of his neck and roughly turning him around and pushing him into the nearest lockers so hard that it was enough to compromise Blaine's breathing for a second.

"What's with that attitude, Anderson. We just wanted to say hello"

"And since it's been a while from the last time we gave you a present, we wanted to give you this" said another one of the bullies and Blaine only had the time to close his eyes when not one, but three slushees hit him on his face and chest.

Blaine felt the humiliation before he even felt the cold of the ice, and it took him a couple of seconds, in which no one approached him to help him, to open his eyes, while he could hear Morgan and his friends laughing as they walked along the corridor.

"Did you all enjoy the show?" Blaine asked, to no one in particular, and some of the people staring at him turned his eyes away in shame, while he could see others couldn't care less about it.

Not wanting to embarrass himself any further by crying in front of them, Blaine quickly jumped into action and went to hide into the locker room. He couldn't go to Spanish like that: he didn't have any spare clothes and Mr. Schue would ask too many questions. And Morgan would be there. And Sam.

When his eyes started stinging, he didn't know if it was from the slushees or from his own tears anymore.

* * *

Sam sighed as he headed up to the Spanish Classroom. He wasn't sure if he wanted to see Blaine right then; or more accurately, if Blaine wanted to see him. For the hell of him that he couldn't understand what was happening with his best friend, but it was starting to drive him crazy. Maybe he should give Blaine some space, as he seemed to need. But what if that made Blaine feel even more lonely or uncared? Maybe the only thing he could do was to be there for Blaine, but without imposing himself too much. To let him know he was there for him without being all over him.

So when he arrived to the class and saw Blaine was not there yet, he decided to just sit by Artie. Maybe Blaine would be grateful to be left alone for a change.

"Hey, Artie" Sam greeted his friend.

"Sam, how's Blaine?" Artie asked as soon as Sam sat at his side, surprised he wasn't going for his usual spot he shared with Blaine. "Is he not coming?"

"How should I know? I haven't seen him since first thing in the morning" Sam answered, kind of grumpily.

"Oh, I thought you'd be helping him" Artie casually commented. Had something happened between the two friends?

"Helping him with what? Wait, what did you mean with _how is he_?" Sam asked, suddenly worried about what Artie might be implying. "Why should he be not okay?"

"Didn't you hear? Apparently he just was badly slusheed" Artie answered, as the rumors had been quickly spread.

"What? It's been ages since we were slusheed last" Sam commented, his heart in his mouth at the thought of Blaine going through that.

"I know, I was just as surprised as you are"

"Who did it?" Sam asked, an uncomfortable need for revenge setting on his chest.

"I heard it was some of your teammates, but it could have only been a rumor. Maybe you should go find him, he could probably use a friendly helping hand"

"Yeah, probably" Sam answered, hesitation clear in his voice. Should he go to Blaine? He had made it pretty clear he didn't want to see him for a while. And, to be honest, Sam was feeling a bit angry at him too, he didn't think he'd done anything to deserve Blaine's wrath –yeah, he had doubted his words again, but come on, it was so obvious he was lying–. But he thought about Blaine's good heart, and how if they were in reversed positions, no silly argument would have kept Blaine from rushing to him in times of need, like this. So he wouldn't, either. His best friend, who had just been slusheed and humiliated, needed him, and that was all that mattered.

"Sam, what's going on?" Artie, noticing Sam's unusual hesitation when it came to Blaine, asked.

"I wish I knew" Sam answered with a sad smile, before standing up and going to find his friend.

* * *

Sam imagined Blaine would be in one of the toilets or in the locker room, trying to make himself decent again. Sam knew how uncomfortable being slusheed was: it felt cold, sticky and it left stains that would not go that easy. So he checked on a couple of restrooms before he tried for the locker room, just after grabbing a spare t-shirt from his own locker, just in case Blaine might need it.

He carefully opened the door, praying to find his friend there alone to have the chance to speak to him, and he was both rewarded and saddened to find Blaine sitting on a bench. He was drenched in red liquid, unmoving, and he was the perfect picture of misery. He hadn't even tried to clean himself yet, and that spoke volumes about how he was feeling.

"I heard you were having a bit of a rough day" Sam said, softly and sympathetically, hoping that Blaine wouldn't push him away again.

"You should be in Spanish class" Blaine answered, not raising his face to meet Sam's eyes, but at least he didn't look as intent of getting rid of him as before.

"My best friend needed me, and that is much more important that some stupid class" Sam answered, in complete honesty, and Blaine's face fell even lower. "So a strawberry one, huh?" Sam asked with a concerned smile as he noticed the red stains on Blaine's sweater.

"More like three" Blaine mumbled, but it was enough for Sam to hear it.

"Three?" Sam asked in surprise. This was worse than he had imagined. "Were they ganging up on you?"

"I guess" Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Ok, this sounds more serious than I thought" Sam said, immediately sitting at Blaine's side, hoping he would be welcomed. "I thought we were over these things this year"

"Apparently not"

"Maybe we should talk to someone"

"It was just a slushee" Blaine immediately opposed to that, shaking his head in negation.

"Three" Sam reminded him.

"Ok, three slushees. That doesn't change the fact that no one has ever done anything about slushee-bullying before, right?"

"Yeah" Sam had to admit, as he put a comforting hand on Blaine's thigh in defeat. "Here, I had a spare t-shirt in my locker, I thought you could use it. It might look a little big on you, but I'm sure you'll look as adorable as ever" Sam shyly joked.

"Sam…" Blaine started, as if begging Sam not to go there, but he didn't listen.

"Just so you know, I didn't kiss you out of pity" Sam didn't know what force had brought him to bring the kiss issue up in that moment, but he still did. Maybe it was the fact that Blaine seemed a little more receptive than he was in the morning. Or maybe it was the fact that Sam was dying to make him understand what that kiss had meant to him. Or maybe he just wanted to give Blaine something to be happy about.

"I can't do this now, Sam" Blaine pleaded, shaking his head with sadness. Why was Sam so keen in making everything so difficult?

"What?"

"Talk about that. Can we talk about it some other time?"

"Yes, of course" Sam relented, disappointedly. "I just wanted you to know that, but we'll talk whenever you're ready"

"Thanks" Blaine finally raised his eyes at him, smiling sadly, and Sam was horrified to see some unshed tears glassing his eyes.

"Blaine, I know you don't want to tell me, but I know there's something more going on than what you told me on Saturday" Sam was practically begging, as he grabbed one of Blaine's hands to hold it between both of his. "I can't stand seeing you so sad all the time. It has to be something I can do to make it better"

"There isn't" Blaine admitted, not even trying to deny his troubles anymore.

"Blaine, please, just tell me"

"I can't" Blaine answered with half a sob that broke Sam's heart.

Sam sighed in surrender. He was lost at what to do or how to help his friend. He was a little relieved that, at least, Blaine wasn't pushing him away this time –he probably was in too much need of a little comfort, which Sam was very willing to offer.

"Come on, let's get this drenched sweater out of you" Sam offered gently and he helped Blaine roll it over and get it over his head.

Blaine, in a clear need of comfort, let himself be manhandled by Sam's loving touch. It felt so good to be taken care of that he forgot why he had been hiding his upper body under thick sweaters and turtle necks for days. So when the soiled sweater was removed from him, something on the skin of Blaine's back caught Sam's attention immediately. Was that…?

"What is this?" Sam asked, horrified, as he lightly traced the perimeter of a huge offending bruise with his fingers.

"What?" Blaine asked, trying to look over his shoulder to see what had Sam so appalled.

"Blaine, your whole back is turning into a purple mess, how the hell did you get that?" Sam asked, his hands on Blaine's shoulders to keep him still as he inspected his friend's injury.

"Mmmm…" Blaine mumbled, trying to gain some time to think of a plausible answer. "I slipped with the remains of the slushee on the floor and hit the lockers, I guess that's where I got it"

"The hell you can do that with just falling on the lockers" Sam answered angrily, but judging by the tenderness with which his fingers brushed the skin of Blaine's back, as if willing it to return to his normal golden tone, the shorter boy could tell that anger was not directed at him. "You were strongly pushed into them, weren't you?"

"What? No, Sam" Blaine tried to deny it, but Sam grabbed his arm and made him turn around until he was facing him.

"Blaine, you need to stop this already. Were you pushed against the lockers?"

"No"

"Stop lying! I can see some older bruises under that and on your neck!" Sam said, a little louder than he would have wanted, judging by the way Blaine flinched. There was something definitely wrong with his best friend, and the last thing Sam wanted was to scare him even more. "I'm sorry, B, I didn't want to shout at you. But please, you need to tell me: who did this to you?"

Blaine looked intently at Sam's eyes, so full of worry and protectiveness… But they were also full of anger and hate, and that was something that deeply scared Blaine. Plus the pain on his back, the humiliation, the fear he had been carrying around for weeks… It was quickly becoming too much and before he could stop it, his eyes were flooded with tears and a quite sob escaped through his lips.

"Blaine" Sam insisted, trying to sound calmer his time, as he tenderly cupped Blaine's cheeks both for comfort and to not let him avoid his gaze anymore. "The bruise on your forehead… Who gave it to you?"

Blaine's only response was to shake his head and bit his lips, as if willing himself not to spill his secrets even though he was dying to. He had come so far… He had protected Sam all along, why couldn't he do it just for a little more, for a few more weeks? He could keep quiet, but he couldn't help finally breaking down, and the sobs only grew stronger as Sam's arms got around him, holding him carefully so as not to put any pressure on his battered back, his hands making comforting paths on Blaine's bare skin.

"Blaine, please" Sam's voice broke and Blaine's heart broke a little more. "You can't keep me having to watch you like this. I won't stand and let anyone hurt you. You've got to let me help you"

Blaine remained quiet, his sobs the only thing perturbing the silence of the room, and he snuggled closer to Sam's chest in a desperate need to feel safe and secure, something only Sam's strong arms around him could give him at the moment.

Sam's mind was in turmoil. Blaine was in serious trouble. Blaine was being deliberately hurt. He was probably being threatened, if he hadn't said anything. And Sam was sure it had to be someone from McKinley, considering Blaine's confession back at home that he felt so out of place there. But who could it be? The Glee Club hadn't been bullied for a very long time, so this had to be something directed only at his best friend –maybe because of his sexual orientation?–. And Artie had said he had been slusheed by some football players. There were a few homophobes on his team, he knew that. Like Morgan, who didn't want to shower next to Blaine that time. And who called Blaine _fairy_ only that morning.

And wait… hadn't Blaine seemed almost scared when Morgan entered the gym that morning?

"It was Morgan, wasn't it?" Sam suddenly realized, and he broke the embrace, still holding Blaine's arms in his hands so he wouldn't be able to escape. "He's been hurting you for weeks, right?"

"No, Sam" Blaine tried, but Sam knew him better than he knew himself and he immediately could see he was lying.

Beside himself with rage, a rage fostered by weeks of seeing Blaine suffering in silence, Sam didn't say a word as he let go of the curly-haired boy and stood up, his hands turning into fists as he rushed out to the door of the locker room.

"Sam, don't!" Blaine shouted behind him, rapidly putting up the T-shirt Sam had given him to follow him, but Sam couldn't hear him anymore.

* * *

Sam couldn't think as he ran back to the Spanish classroom, where he knew he would find that bastard. No one hurt his Blaine and went away with it, he would made sure of that.

He opened the door brusquely and attracted the gazes of everyone in the room, though Sam didn't even notice. His only purpose was to find Morgan, and as soon as he saw him, he entered the room with firm and fast steps and walked to him.

"Sam, you're late" Mr. Schue commented casually, but he started worrying when he noticed the deadly stance on Sam at the moment and the fact that Blaine was just behind him, asking him to stop. "Sam, what…?"

Before Mr. Schue could finish his question, Sam had made his way to Morgan and didn't even pause a second to think before he raised his fist and punched the bully's face with all of his forces, making him fall of his chair to the floor. That, though, didn't stop Sam from bending over and grabbing Morgan by the lapels of his jacket to bring his face closer to his.

"He's not alone, you bastard, you hear me?" Sam shouted, sounding very scary with the fury present both in his face and in his voice. "He has me! Dare to deal with me, you piece of shit!"

By then, and before Morgan could think of fighting back, both Mr. Schue and Blaine were grabbing Sam's arms, forcing him to let go of Morgan and taking him a few steps back.

"If you touch him again I will kill you, you son of a bitch!" Sam yelled, fighting against the restraining hands on his body until Blaine's voice broke through his one-track mind.

"Sam, please, stop this, I'm begging you" Blaine pleaded, his voice barely more than a whisper in Sam's ear, and then, and only then, Sam's struggles ceased.

"What is the meaning of this, Sam?" Mr Schue asked, angry and surprised, once Sam stopped struggling.

"Just ask him!" Sam yelled as an answer, pointing angrily at Morgan.

"I have no idea what he's talking about, he's out of his mind!" Morgan defended himself as he stood up from the floor, rubbing the corner of his mouth, which was bleeding thanks to Sam's punch.

"Am I? Ok, let me go" Sam asked, brushing the hands still holding him off him with the implicit promise of staying put, and turned to Morgan again. "Tell Mr. Schue why Blaine was late for his class"

"What the hell do I have to do with that… with him?" Morgan stopped himself before throwing an insult to the boy, knowing it wouldn't help him in front of the teacher.

"What is this?" Sam asked, pointing at some remaining red stains on Blaine's hair.

"You enlighten me" Morgan answered sarcastically, and Blaine curled his fingers around Sam's forearm in case Sam decided to react to Morgan's provocation.

"Don't even try to deny it, Morgan. Half the school saw what you and your friends did to Blaine"

Morgan looked around the class, and could see some nods of confirmation that they had indeed seen what had happened. Plus none of his accomplices were there to verify his version of the facts, and Mr. Schue was clearly waiting for an explanation, so he guessed there was no other way out of this for him than to tell the truth –or some of it.

"Ok, I threw a slushee at the… at his friend. But is that a reason to attack me like that?" Morgan asked, feigning to be really offended.

"You just threw a slushee at him?" Sam repeated, outraged that Morgan could hurt Blaine and play cool about it. "Look what he did to him!" Sam shouted and before anybody was able to stop him, he grabbed Blaine's arm, turned him around and lifted his shirt to show everyone the offending bruise on his back.

"What the hell are you doing?" Blaine hissed at him, immediately throwing the t-shirt down and curling over himself, blushing. He hated being the centre of attention if not on stage, especially about something so painful and humiliating for him.

"I'm sorry, Blaine" Sam immediately apologized, resting his hand on the back of Blaine's neck as an apology. "But I won't have you suffering in silence anymore. I won't let anyone hurt you again"

Blaine looked at Sam's eyes, and what he saw there moved him and surprised him in equal parts: there was so much affection, protective urges, anger… but there was also something else Blaine had never expected to see there, and for a second he dared to wonder if maybe Sam was not lying and that kiss had not been only a poor attempt of comfort.

"Did Morgan do that to you, Blaine?" Mr. Schue asked, getting Blaine out of his thoughts, but there was no need to answer: Sam, his knight in shining armor, was already doing it for him.

"Of course he did!" Sam yelled, though he lowered his voice once he realized he was shouting at a teacher. "And he's been bullying Blaine for weeks; God knows how many times he's hurt him"

"Ok, boys, we should have a talk with the school principle" Mr. Schue suggested, although the three involved students knew it was an order. "The class is dismissed, everyone. See you all tomorrow"

* * *

"So from what I can understand, Mr. Evans broke into the class and punched Mr. Morgan in the face with no prior provocation, is that right?" Principal Figgins asked to no one in particular, as he sat in front of the three boys, with Mr. Schue perched on the wall beside him.

"It is" Morgan rushed to answer.

"He was just trying to defend me" Blaine interrupted, in an obvious attempt to get his friend out of trouble. If Sam got expelled after everything he had gone through to avoid that…

"Mr. Anderson, don't disrupt this conversation. You shouldn't even be here…"

"I'm involved in all this too" Blaine protested.

"Blaine, stay out of this" Sam whispered to him, afraid that Blaine was going to be in trouble too. It was bad enough that he was, he didn't want his best friend to suffer the consequences of his outburst.

"No, I won't, Sam" Blaine said, with a confidence Sam hadn't seen in him for weeks. "Principal Figgins, this is all my fault. If someone needs to be expelled, this is me"

"What are you talking about, Blaine?" Sam asked, his face a pure mask of surprise.

"That's very honorable of you, Mr. Anderson, but Mr. Schuester here and the whole class saw Mr. Evans jumping on Mr. Morgan himself" Principal Figgins said.

"I manipulated him into doing it" Blaine responded without hesitation.

"What?" Sam almost jumped from his chair. "Blaine, you…"

"Shut up, Sam" Blaine ordered him. "Morgan here has been bullying me for weeks and I wanted him to stop, so I told Sam about it, exaggerating it so he would try and put an end to it"

"He still assaulted Mr. Morgan" Figgins reminded him.

"Because I made him believe Morgan was threatening me to kill me. I've been going at it incessantly until Sam couldn't take it no more. I took advantage of Sam's friendship and loyalty to my own benefit and I'm sorry"

If the situation hadn't been so serious, Blaine would have laughed at the confusion written in both Sam's and Morgan's faces. They obviously didn't understand his strategy, and he knew Sam would protest, but Morgan wouldn't contradict him for his own interest.

"Blaine, I'm not letting you take the blame for any of this" Sam told him very seriously, but Blaine had already made a decision.

"You don't have to let me, it's my responsibility and I will pay for it if I have to" Blaine answered, pleading to Sam to let it go with his eyes.

"Manipulated or not, Mr. Evans still attacked Mr. Morgan" Figgins interrupted their conversation.

"Principal Figgins" Mr. Schue finally intervened, trying to defend _his _boys as much as he could. "We're only concentrating in what happened in my class, but I think we're forgetting about the fact that Mr. Morgan still bullied Mr. Anderson"

"But Mr. Anderson said he exaggerated it" Figgins answered, giving bullying the same importance he had ever done: none.

"That doesn't mean nothing happened, right? I saw a very angry-looking bruise on his back that apparently Morgan caused"

"I haven't touched him!" Morgan protested, and Blaine had to hold onto Sam's hand to stop him from jumping on the bully again.

"Maybe your pushing him into a locker had something to do with it" Sam sarcastically replied. "I heard there were quite a few witnesses, do you want me to get some of them?"

"There will be no need for that" Figgins intervened at seeing Morgan's guilty expression. "I can't condone any kind of violence, and there has been a lot of it today"

"Please, Mr. Figgins" Blaine begged. "Don't get Sam expelled. I assume all the consequences of this"

"There will be no need for that, right, Mr. Figgins?" Mr. Schue interceded for his students.

"I think the wisest action to take would be a judgment of Solomon: all three of you will be suspended for a week, under the promise you won't get into any more violent action or you will be expelled. Is that clear?"

Both Sam and Morgan nodded, surprised at how easy they were going to come out of that. But to Blaine it still wasn't acceptable.

"But what about Sam's student record? He shouldn't have any stains on it, he is not to blame for any of this" Blaine asked, and Sam looked at him in wonder: Blaine's own student record was unpolluted and very important for his admission in NYADA, and he still only cared about Sam's? What was that boy willing to do for him?

"I think he was very much involved in this, Mr. Anderson" Figgins answered, refusing to talk about it.

"But Principal…" Blaine started, but he was stopped by Mr. Schue's comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you wait for me outside for a second?" Mr. Schue suggested, and both Blaine and Sam nodded resignedly before standing up to go outside to wait for a miracle.

* * *

"So what was that about, Anderson?" Morgan asked, once the three students were in the hallway on their own. "Why did you lie about everything?"

"I don't need to give you any explanations" Blaine proudly answered, and he had to resist the urge to smile when he saw Sam nodding enthusiastically in support beside him. "I didn't do it for you, though, don't fret thinking I want to get into your pants or something, like we queers do"

"Are we feeling emboldened now, Anderson? You didn't sound so defiant without your boyfriend there to defend you the other day" Morgan sarcastically said, though there was suddenly a bit of fear on his eyes when Sam stepped between him and Blaine, gently pushing Blaine behind him and looking very intimidating.

"Well, I'm surely glad he feels safer with me. That's what boyfriends are for, right?" Sam intervened, and the shock Blaine felt at his words was enough to not let him say a word about it.

"So that's it? He turned you into one of his lot after all" Morgan asked, his eyes hugely open with surprise.

"Apparently so, yeah. I must have caught it from him when we shared a glass once" Sam joked, his voice full of sarcasm, and even Blaine couldn't stop a snort at his poor attempt of humor.

"You're just as disgusting as he is" Morgan stated, and the smile in Sam's face immediately erased at that bully insulting Blaine again.

"Get out of my sight before I decide not to care about being expelled. And if you so much as lay a finger on him again…" he clearly threatened, but Morgan seemed to understand as he finally started walking away from them, not before sending both a disgusted and full of hate gaze that both tried to ignore.

"You shouldn't have said that" Blaine lamented behind him, so Sam turned around to look at his friend.

"It was worth it, just to see the look on his face" Sam joked, but he couldn't say anything else as Mr. Schue finally came out of the office and stood in front of them.

"So I convinced the Principal to not include this suspension in both your records. I told him it was a pity to put a stain on your clean records so close to your graduation, especially considering you'd been bullied after all, so…" he happily announced, and he was nicely surprised when Blaine quickly embraced him.

"Thank you, Mr. Schue" he said, and by the look on his eyes when he broke the embrace, Will could see he really meant it.

"Blaine, I know everything you said in there was bullshit" Mr. Schue said.

"What?"

"I know you, Blaine, and I know you would never do something like that, especially to Sam"

Blaine sighed when he saw his plan was being discovered.

"I get it, Blaine. Bullying has always been a failed subject at McKinley and you thought no good would come out of you reporting Morgan's behavior. And you were afraid that Sam would have to suffer the consequences of a failed system, so you took it in your hands that he wouldn't, right?"

Blaine smiled at his favorite teacher. He always seemed to get them, and understand most of what they did and thought. If only the other teachers would be like him in some aspects…

"And Sam…" Will continued, turning to the other boy. "I can understand your need to defend your friend but… violence is never the answer"

"I know, Mr. Schue" Sam agreed, lowering his gaze, clearly embarrassed at himself. "To be honest, I didn't take the time to think if it was doing any good, I just felt so angry…"

"I get it, boys, really" Will added, with a sympathetic hand in each boy's shoulder. When you're all back from your suspension I'm going to keep an eye on that boy. But, Blaine, you've got to promise me you'll come to me if he ever puts so much as a finger on you again"

"I promise" Blaine needed, and he felt a warm sense of serenity when Mr. Schue squeezed his shoulder and Sam's fingers curled around his own.

"Well, boys, I'll see you in Glee club in five minutes"

"But… we're suspended" Sam reminded him.

"I guess you can spare five minutes of your week off to come and say goodbye to your friends, right?" Mr. Schue suggested, and both the boys nodded at him with a smile.

As soon as Mr. Schue left them alone, Sam turned to Blaine and rolled his eyes at him.

"That was…" Sam started to say, but he couldn't find a word to describe what had happened in the last hour, so he left the sentence hanging in the air.

"I know" Blaine answered with a small smile, nodding at his friend and starting to walk alongside him towards the classroom were the Glee club usually rehearsed.

"Why did you say all that?" Sam asked, right to the point. "You let Morgan go easy"

"Because I needed to make a point about how I manipulated you to do that, and it had to look as if I was exaggerating" Blaine explained. "Otherwise they would have only focused on you attacking him on your own terms and they would probably have expelled you both –or even only you– and I was surely not having that"

"But you risked getting expelled yourself" Sam pointed out.

Blaine just shrugged his shoulders, though Sam didn't need any words to understand that Blaine would take any punishment if only to spare Sam. Moved by how much his friend cared about him, he wordlessly threw his arms around Blaine and squeezed him strongly to him, resting a butterfly kiss on his cheek.

Blaine sighed, in sweet surrender. After weeks of lies, pain and loneliness, here he was, enveloped in the arms of the person he cared about the most in the world, protecting him and keeping him safe from all the wrong in the world. He doubted he had ever felt more at peace and he enjoyed the feeling as long as he could.

"You know I'm going to make sure you keep your promise, right?" Sam whispered on his ear, and Blaine finally broke the embrace to be able to look at his friend.

"What promise?" he asked in confusion.

"To tell someone if that ape hurts you again in any way" Sam answered, lightly running his fingers along the remains of the bruise on Blaine's forehead.

"I doubt he will dare to even approach me anymore now he's been discovered"

"He did threaten you, though, didn't he?" Sam asked, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Yes, he did" Blaine answered in a soft voice, lowering his face to avoid Sam's gaze, but the latter raised it again with a gentle finger under his chin.

"Why didn't you tell someone? Why couldn't you tell me?" Sam asked, trying not to sound to reproachful.

"Because he threatened you too if I did. He said that he would make your life a living hell and that he would get you expelled if I told you and well… he almost did"

"You mean… you took all that in silence for me?" Sam asked, marveled at how deep Blaine's feelings for him were.

"Of course, Sam. You're everything to me" Blaine confessed before he could stop himself, but fortunately for him, they reached the Glee club door and Artie was waiting for them outside, so Sam didn't have a chance to answer.

"Blaine" Artie said, pulling at his arms to make Blaine bend over so he could strongly embrace the boy and pat his back comfortingly. "I'm so sorry you had to go through all that"

"It's okay, Artie" Blaine diminished the importance of it, but was still glad for his friend's support. "I guess it's over now"

"I… told the others" Artie confessed, breaking the embrace but leaving a sympathetic hand on Blaine's forearm. "They heard about Sam about to be expelled and they were freaking out, so I had to tell them the whole truth"

"Oh… okay" Blaine said, not really comfortable with the idea of everyone knowing about his situation but not wanting to blame Artie either.

"They will be glad to see you" Artie added, noticing Blaine's apprehension. "They were so worried about you and so angry when they heard…"

"It's okay, Artie. I guess they would have found out sooner or later"

"So… are you going to be expelled, Sam?" Artie asked, turning to the other boy.

"Why don't we go inside so we can explain everything to all of you in one go?" Sam suggested, not really wanting to prolong Blaine's unwanted attention more than strictly necessary, and he gently pushed both Blaine and Artie in the door's direction.

"Blaine!" Marley exclaimed as soon as everyone saw them in the room, and she jumped from her seat to embrace him, closely followed by Tina and Ryder, who also wanted to give him some of their love.

"Are you alright?" Joe asked him as the remaining members of the club also closed around Sam and Blaine.

"I am now" Blaine confessed, and he smiled at Sam when his best friend put his arm around his shoulders and squeezed him to his side.

"So what happened, Sam?" Jake asked the blond boy. "Are you going to be expelled?"

"No, I only got a week suspension. Just as Morgan and… Blaine"

"Blaine? You got suspended too?" Kitty asked, shocked.

"But you were the victim of all this! How is that fair?" Marley asked, clearly furious.

"Well, he kind of brought in on himself when he made Figgins believe he had manipulated me into punching Morgan so I wouldn't get expelled" Sam explained, looking at his friend in mocking scolding but clearly swelling with pride for him.

"Morgan is walking out too easily of this" Ryder intervened. "Maybe we should do something"

"Yeah, we should have a talk with that son of a bitch" Jake added as Unique nodded enthusiastically, but Blaine was quick to stop all revenge thoughts from his friends.

"No, guys, let's not complicate all this even further"

"Blaine, we can't forget what he pulled you through" Artie said.

"Yeah, Artie told us about… how he hurt you. We can't allow that" Ryder added.

"See?" Sam said to Blaine, squeezing him again to his side. "They all love you in here"

"Of course we love you, Blaine. Did you ever doubt that?" Artie asked, feeling a little guilty none of them had noticed anything, and wanting to make up for it.

"He was just going through a lot and wasn't seeing things clearly" Sam tried to justify him, seeing as Blaine didn't seem to find his voice at the moment, overwhelmed as he was at all the love and caring he was receiving. "Well, guys, I think we should get going. Our week suspension starts now, and I think this one could use a little rest after all the emotions from today" Sam added, pointing his head at Blaine and smiling tenderly at him.

"Thank you all, guys" Blaine said, his voice shaking a bit, so Sam reinforced his grip around him. "You're all awesome and I'm sorry I doubted you for a bit. It won't happen again"

"It's okay, Blaine" Marley assured him. "We completely understand. We didn't do a great job about noticing what was happening, after all"

"Yeah, that's why we feel as if we should do something now" Jake added.

"We need to take better care of each other" Ryder added. "We want to protect you"

"Please, I don't want you to do anything. I'm sure Morgan won't try anything again, he's risking too much now" Blaine insisted.

"But we can help Blaine in another way, guys, and Sam too. We'll keep you updated about homework, notes and everything you need for this week you're going to miss" Artie suggested, desperate to help his friends in any way he could.

"What? You call that helping?" Sam joked, and smiled widely when Blaine playfully punched him on his chest.

"Yes, that's helping a lot, you moron" Blaine joked back, nodding gratefully at Artie.

"Boys, I think you should get going" Will reminded him, who had been leaning on the wall and hearing everything without them noticing for some time.

"Yes, we don't want to risk getting into any more trouble" Sam agreed, finally letting go of Blaine to shake hands and give quick embraces to his teammates. "See you all in a week"

"You won't get rid of us so easily, Evans, we'll visit you before that to give you your homework" Ryder promised.

"Thank you, guys" Blaine honestly thanked his friends and embraced each one of them. "You're the best"

"We just wish we had been there for you sooner" Artie, the last one in line to embrace Blaine, confessed.

"You're here now and that's all that matters" Blaine assured him just before he let himself be pulled to the door by Sam.

* * *

"You alright?" Sam asked, obviously worried, as soon as they were outside the room and found themselves alone in the empty hallway.

"I guess" Blaine answered, with a smile and a shrug of his shoulders. Too many things had happened for him to process them so quickly.

"Everyone was so great with us, right?"

"Yeah" Blaine answered, his smile widening considerably at all the affection and warmth he had just received.

"They all love you" Sam insisted, and Blaine's silence encouraged him to say what he needed to say. "_I_ love you"

"I love you too, Sam. More than you could possibly imagine" Blaine answered, his eyes full of devotion. Now that his big secret had been uncovered, he didn't feel like restraining himself any longer.

"I meant what I said before, you know" Sam said, his heart beating very fast at what he was about to do.

"What?"

"I didn't kiss you out of pity"

"Then why did you?" Blaine asked in surprise.

"Because… I really wanted to do it" Sam answered, because it was as simple as that.

"And now?" Blaine asked, and Sam immediately enveloped him in his arms, moved by the hope he had seen in Blaine's eyes.

"And now I really want to do it again" Sam confessed, and before he could lose the courage to act, he lowered his head and captured his best friend's lips with his own, putting all his love for him in the kiss so Blaine would know his feelings were reciprocated.

The kiss was hardly more than their lips touching, but Sam still brought his hand to cup Blaine's cheek to keep him as close as possible, as Blaine threw an arm around Sam's shoulders in a half embrace that made their chests gently collide, making both of them shiver with desire and happiness.

"You're going to be the death of me, Sam Evans" Blaine confessed when the kiss broke, gently resting his forehead against Sam's, their arms still around each other.

"I really hope not, because I'd like you around for a long time" Sam joked, tenderly tucking a stray curl behind Blaine's ear and giving his lips a quick peck.

"Sam, I'm still not sure what this means" Blaine confessed, all his insecurities about Sam's feelings quite palpable.

"Remember some weeks ago, when I was talking to you about me liking Barry Manilow, and you asked me if I had feelings for you?"

"Yeah, of course" Blaine answered, confused about where that was going.

"Well, I guess everything that happened that week, with the whole guilty pleasures thing, gave me a new perspective on how I felt about you. And lately…"

"Lately what?" Blaine encouraged him to continue.

"Let's say if you asked me again, my answer would be quite different" Sam confessed with a shy smile that Blaine immediately reciprocated. "Would you ask me again?"

"Sam, do you have feelings for me?" Blaine obeyed, the butterflies in his stomach making a big fuss.

"Yes, I do. A lot. I just hope I'm not too late, and you still have feelings for me too"

Blaine's only answer was to start the kiss this time, bringing Sam closer with a hand on the back of his neck. Sam immediately responded, squeezing Blaine strongly to him and deepening the kiss much more than before. He gently pushed Blaine against the wall and trapped his body with his own until only the lack of breath was able to bring them apart, and then Sam moved his lips to Blaine's neck and started a path of kisses towards his collarbone that made Blaine sigh in surrender.

"Sam, I don't think it's the right place for this" Blaine commented with a chuckle after a second, and Sam stopped to look at him, the biggest smile on his face.

"I don't know, man, seeing you in my clothes… is doing something to me" Sam joked, before giving one more kiss to Blaine's lips and letting go of him. "Well, considering we now have a week off, I guess we'll have a lot of time to explore… that"

"That would be nice" Blaine agreed, grinning stupidly at him.

"And also to have a loooong talk about what's been going on with that… with Morgan. I want you to tell me everything" Sam said, more seriously this time.

"Everything?"

"Well, if I'm going to be your boyfriend, you can't keep any secrets from me, right?"

"You want to be my boyfriend?" Blaine asked with so much hope in his eyes that he almost looked like a child.

"Obviously!" Sam answered with a chuckle, as if the answer was too obvious. "I just told you I have feelings for you and kissed you breathless! Are you sure you didn't hit your head too?"

Blaine's laughter, after weeks and weeks of missing it, sounded like celestial music to Sam. Making Blaine laugh like that, when he went all cute with his eyes closing almost completely and his nose wrinkling, was suddenly Sam's main objective in life. And if Sam was something, that was stubborn.

"So they did that to you because they thought we were an issue, right? Well, let's prove them right!" Sam suggested and before Blaine could understand what he meant with that, Sam entwined his fingers with his and pulled of him, so they could make their whole way to the car holding hands, making everyone they would pass by see they were not ashamed of their feelings for each other. And that they intended to be quite happy together, thank you very much.

THE END


End file.
